The NATO dance
Since last week’s CNN debate, the question of whether President Joe Biden will drop out of the race—as well as whether he even should do so—has been the subject of enormous attention. Regardless of how you might feel about this issue, there’s a welcome silver lining: fears stemming from the debate is inspiring NATO to act quickly to safeguard the institution against a potential second Donald Trump term.
NATO members can’t forget how Trump criticized the alliance and threatened to withdraw while he was in power, while throwing compliments Putin’s way. Now, with the specter of Biden losing or being replaced by a candidate who perhaps can’t beat Trump, NATO is focusing more on pursuing proactive steps to ensure its stability and prepare for a possible Trump sequel.
Beginning this Tuesday, Biden will host American allies at a NATO summit, which also marks the alliance’s 75th anniversary, which arrives as a timely venue to address shared concerns about Trump. Although Congress passed legislation last year that would make a U.S. withdrawal from NATO harder to accomplish, that doesn’t prevent Trump from just ignoring NATO missions, according to a report from The Associated Press.
NATO is soon likely to endorse an initiative to take greater responsibility, compared to the United States, for coordinating training as well as military and financial assistance for Ukraine. Another possibility is elevating Ukraine’s presence within NATO. Overall, NATO will consider steps to make it less dependable on the United States, and thus more “Trump-proof,” according to the report.
No matter how the current political drama over the question of who the Democratic presidential nominee should be plays out, something positive is in the works. It has always been true that Trump could become President of the United States again in January, but the CNN debate reminded the world of the reality of this potential nightmare scenario. When it comes to protecting NATO, better safe than sorry is the best strategy.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month